Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 1976
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The Labour Party leadership election of 1976 occurred when former leader Harold Wilson resigned as Party Leader and Prime Minister.
In the first ballot, held on 25 March, six candidates vied for the leadership: Employment Secretary Michael Foot; Foreign Secretary Jim Callaghan; Home Secretary Roy Jenkins; the Chancellor Denis Healey; Tony Benn, the Energy Secretary and Tony Crosland the Environment Secretary.
| First Ballot: 25 March 1976 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Michael Foot | 90 | 28.7% | |
| Jim Callaghan | 84 | 26.8% | |
| Roy Jenkins | 56 | 17.8% | |
| Tony Benn | 37 | 11.8% | |
| Denis Healey | 30 | 9.6% | |
| Tony Crosland | 17 | 5.3% | |
| Majority | 6 | 1.9% | |
| Turnout | 314 | ||
| Second Ballot required | |||
As a result of the first ballot, Jenkins, Benn and Crosland withdrew from the contest. The remaining three candidates would face each other in a second ballot, five days later.
| Second Ballot: 30 March 1976 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Jim Callaghan | 141 | 45.2% | |
| Michael Foot | 133 | 42.6% | |
| Denis Healey | 38 | 12.2% | |
| Majority | 8 | 2.6% | |
| Turnout | 312 | ||
| Third Ballot required | |||
Because no candidate achieved an absolute majority, the candidate with the lowest number of votes was eliminated (in this case Healey). A final run-off ballot was held six days later.
| Third Ballot: 5 April 1976 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Jim Callaghan | 176 | 56.2% | |
| Michael Foot | 137 | 43.8% | |
| Majority | 39 | 12.4% | |
| Turnout | 313 | ||
| Callaghan elected leader | |||
Immediately upon his election as Labour leader, Callaghan succeeded Wilson as Prime Minister.
[edit] References
- Tony Benn, The Benn Diaries (Arrow, 1995).
| Labour Party (UK) leadership elections |
|---|
| 1922 (Macdonald) | 1935 (Attlee) | 1955 (Gaitskell) | 1960 | 1961 | 1963 (Wilson) | 1976 (Callaghan) | 1980 (Foot) | 1983 (Kinnock) | 1988 | 1992 (Smith) | 1994 (Blair) | 2007 (Brown) |
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